This serves one main purpose: Donators that request a specific feature gain access to that feature as soon as it is available.

So far anyone that has donated doesn't get anything in return - so I'm doing this for you, as my way of saying thanks!

It would make sense that the more you donate, the longer you have access to these pre-release versions for. However, this is very much still a new idea, and I need to consider exactly how it would work. Suggestions are certainly welcome.

To everyone that has already donated something: you will receive a pre-release version later this week. And thanks!

Are you referring to people that contribute by reporting bugs, requesting features, posting in the forum & editing the wiki? Agreed, they should gain some kind of compensation too for their support.

I built a private website and invited a few people to it for that reason, but ended up not using it as it's main purpose was for testing Mac compatibility (which isn't as important any more). The people I invited were only those that had actively posted on the forums several times in the past or reported bugs / requested features.

Might still be a good idea to stick with that after all. But in that case what do people get if they donate and are extremely active on the website? ;-)